I feel normal and would identify myself as middle class. However, when I read descriptions, almost every one would place me as having been raised in the upper class. I don't think I am at the extreme end, although I know some people would disagree.

I have trouble identifying myself as part of a community so that may impact my views on class. I can't really see myself as part of the upper class or middle class even though my attitude is probably typical among upper class people.

Oh God. You are probably a little like my ex boyfriend. He'd say things like, "it was really hard for my family growing up. My parents were starting their own businesses, we had to eat American Chop Suey a lot. We had to build the house. And buy the horses."

Whatever bud.

(Sounds like an upper middle class version of poor to me.)
(I'm not really accusing you of saying you were poor, the "upper class attitude" is what made me think of it.

Awww. That should be your new SN. "Country Bumpkin" or "Rube." Now everyone's got me wondering what my class status is. I guess the fact that I don't think about it too much (outside of this thread) means that I'm (still) in the bottom of the pack somewhere.

Or the opposite.

The truly upper class in this country do not think of themselves as such. In fact, they barely have any conceit of class whatsoever.

It's only the lower upper class in this country that wants to fashion themselves as some sort of aristocracy. The upper class knows better - blessed is the man who cares not for anything but the ones he cares about.

In other words, even though George W. Bush is one of them, they generally feel sorry for him. Why would he need to feel that powerful? Didn't he already have enough? Didn't he think about how much that job would alienate him from his family? There are plenty of other people who would run themselves rotten in that job. Why willingly take it if you have better options?

To the upper class, the status signifier is that you may act as if wealth and power do not matter, because you can be fully confident that people will respect your opinion no matter the circumstance.

I grew up on WIC and "green bag" clothes (as my family/ nearby friends used to call them. Clothes from church or in trash bags that people dropped off.) Food stamps and 20 year old cars. The whole kit and caboodle. At one point my mom and I lived in a one bedroom apartment together and she slept on a couch in the room and I slept on a bed. (When I was 14. "I'm like MOOOMMM CAN'T WE MOVVEE??")I thought I was middle class growing up. (Not saying it was bad... I was healthy and well cared for... just sayin'. I'm not sure if anyone else would call that middle class America.) Everything is relative.

I bolded the last part. I think it's very true. Kinda in the loop de loops of my not quite answering OP post - what I was trying to say is that class identity or one's individual class is totally in the eye of that beholder, and that one's own sense of self is through lived experience. Regarding your post ShortnSweet, I'm gonna guess that because you did feel comfortable and well looked after (?) growing up that it contributed a lot to feeling middle class. Similar to how actual middle to upper middle class kids start thinking they are poor or lower middle class because they can't get *all* the designer clothes they wanted or all the video games they want.

Now on to my general theories! Unless you are living in a bustling urban area where all kinds of people rub elbows (I'm thinking NYC) you probably grow up in a relative bubble and are surrounded by people who are very similar to yourself.

That's why there are so many middle class to upper middle class kids who have never seen let alone lived in true poverty who think they are "poor" and adopt an "anti-privilege" stance, completely ignorant of how much relative privilege they have. I have noticed this mostly in the US. In other countries, people are more acutely aware of class and disparity and you know quite clearly at least by your teens what your relative socioeconomic class is and those of the people around you.

Also, aside from a few years out of college, I haven't encountered this behavior again. I think partly it's because as you get older and build more of a life for yourself you really do create your own bubble to live in.

Yes 'rich' is relative. I remember a couple, both with master's degrees and a successful business who lived in a beautiful home I estimated at at least $500,000, more like $600,000+ and 2 cars - were talking about how certain laws only favored "those rich people" something something. They did not include themselves with "rich", though I think a lot observers would at least consider them comfortable and even affluent. I think they would consider themselves to be middle class if pushed. I think that might even be the textbook definition of "middle class". Others would say "rich", as in "in America, everyone is rich".

Most people, or just young people, in the US are totally unaware of their own class, with the exception of the very poor or the very wealthy. I forgot to add that because class as a lived experience is a lot more than how much income is earned, it's about your surroundings, how you live, how comfortable you are, and who you think you are. I've lived on less than $12,000 a year before, working 2 jobs or random jobs, but I never felt "poor" and I knew that my income was not an indicator of my class, it was more an indicator of a phase in life (right out of college living on my own) and my class was defined by my overall lifelong socio-economic background.

Rambling again now!!! LOL.

“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.” ― Oscar Wilde

The truly upper class in this country do not think of themselves as such. In fact, they barely have any conceit of class whatsoever.

It's only the lower upper class in this country that wants to fashion themselves as some sort of aristocracy. The upper class knows better - blessed is the man who cares not for anything but the ones he cares about.

In other words, even though George W. Bush is one of them, they generally feel sorry for him. Why would he need to feel that powerful? Didn't he already have enough? Didn't he think about how much that job would alienate him from his family? There are plenty of other people who would run themselves rotten in that job. Why willingly take it if you have better options?

To the upper class, the status signifier is that you may act as if wealth and power do not matter, because you can be fully confident that people will respect your opinion no matter the circumstance.

Possibly. I think what happened to me was such a long period of discomfort that taught me how to pinch pennies and survive with less and make me highly aware of my financial situation constantly then turned into suddenly being able to work a lot less and make a lot more and still be able to save. (And think about the smartest ways to handle my finances. Before, the obvious smart thing to do was to buy food.) The sudden comfort kind of made me forget about it. (Part of the comfort comes from being able to live with less, though. A little money feels like a lot to me.) So, then the topic just kind of faded into the background. As long as I am happy with my financial status, class doesn’t matter, and in turn, I don’t really pay any attention to it anymore.